Loneliness, fear of

An abnormal and persistent fear of loneliness, of being alone.

Sufferers of this fear experience undue anxiety even though they realize that being alone does not threaten their well-being.

They may worry about being ignored and unloved, or they may worry about intruders, strange noises or the possibility of developing a medical problem.

Fear of loneliness is termed 'autophobia,' a word derived from two Greek words: 'autos' (self) and 'phobos' (fear).

'Autos' has given us many English words such as 'automatic' and 'automotive' (self-moving) and 'autonomy' (self-governing).

And 'phobos' has bequeathed us a vast number of phobias such as 'claustrophobia' (fear of closed places) and 'acrophobia' (fear of heights).